Sam Cooke Essay

To understand the true meaning and emotion behind Sam Cooke’s revolutionary song “A Change Is Gonna Come”, we must first understand Cooke himself as a musical artist and as a person, as well as understanding the Civil Rights Movement and the role it played in the songs creation. Sam Cooke was one of eight children born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He began singing at an early age in his church, because his father was the Baptist minister at the time. After some time had passed, Cooke and his family relocated to Chicago. There he began performing gospel music with his siblings. Cooke, was part of a family gospel quartet group called the Singing Children at the age of nine, joined a high school singing group called the Highway QCs in his teenage years, and later joined a group called the Soul Stirrers, which at the time was one of the most popular and influential gospel quartets of the 1940s, and later became their lead vocalist around 1950. He remained with the Soul Stirrers group until 1956. Cooke was let go of his contract with Specialty Records by the owner Art Rupe because of his fear that Cooke’s secular song “Lovable” would lead to the company losing their gospel fan base. Sam Cooke became one of the first gospel stars to change into secular music, he was also one of the first black artists to found his own music publishing company

The focus of the purpose for civil rights for African Americans was on political issues such as voting, education, better housing, increased employment opportunities, and fair police protection. Cooke was an enthusiastic and passionate supporter of the 1960s civil rights struggle. The music he created reflected his commitment to the struggle as well, as in such songs as "A Change Is Gonna Come" in 1963. Civil Rights songs, are aimed to move society